FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevation view of an exemplary starting block 10 as known in the art. The starting block 10 may include a platform 12 attached to a carriage assembly including one or more stems (also referred to as posts) 14. The stems 14 may be detachably coupled to an anchor embedded in concrete 1 or any suitable material of a pool deck. The starting block 10 may be removed, for example, when not in use by removing the stems 14 from the anchors.
FIG. 2 illustrates a top, front perspective view of an exemplary anchor assembly 20 as known in the art. The anchor assembly 20 may include a body 22 having an opening 24. The opening 24 may be configured to receive a stem 14 of a starting block 10. The opening 24 of the anchor assembly 20 may be covered by a lid 26 when the anchor assembly 20 is not in use, such as when the anchor assembly is not receiving the stem 14 of a starting block 10. The anchor assembly 20 is typically a metal socket configured to be embedded in a pool deck, such as concrete 1 or any suitable material.
Existing starting blocks 10 may have difficulties securely fastening within conventional anchor assemblies 20. The starting block 10 may wobble if the stem(s) 14 of the starting block is not securely fastened within the anchor assembly 20. To address the problem of a wobbly connection between a starting block stem 14 and an anchor assembly 20, various specialized assemblies have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,994 by Wiemer et al. discloses a cylindrical anchor/post mating system having a post with a mating key element configured to mate with an anchor key element when the post is inserted into the anchor. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,661,767 by Svendsen teaches an anchor having a wedge assembly whereby rotation of an adjustment bolt of the wedge assembly moves an upper and lower wedge member together, and the wedge engagement with a central wedge member causes the central wedge member to move toward engagement with the tube to secure the tube within a base body. These starting block fastening systems use specialized anchor assemblies and/or specialized post/anchor connections. Accordingly, the specialized systems may require that existing anchor assemblies be replaced, which may be time consuming, difficult, and expensive. Moreover, specialized systems may only work with certain corresponding starting block stems, which may not be practical because it limits the type of starting block and/or starting block stem that may be implemented with the specialized anchor assembly and/or specialized post/anchor connection.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.